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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. last — final
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rest — a break
  8. last — finally
  9. rash — a series
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — of ice
  12. court — of a king
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rest — what's left
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cue — a signal
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cue — for pool
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. craft — a skill
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cap — a lid
  24. last — to go on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com